Boeing 787

6:50 pm

Wed January 30, 2013

Boeing CEO Offers Apology To Customers Over 787 Problems

Boeing’s top executives say that at this point, they don’t expect significant financial fallout from the grounding of the 787 Dreamliner. Federal regulators halted flights of the plane after two serious battery malfunctions.

Chief Executive Jim McNerney says job one for Boeing is completing the investigation and getting the planes back in the air.

"We deeply regret the impact this situation is having on our customers," McNerney says. "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the flight crews and passengers who fly our airplanes. We will get to the bottom of this, and in so doing, we will restore confidence in the 787 and Boeing."

The company has delivered 50 Dreamliners so far – about half of them to Japan. McNerney says Boeing will keep building 787s even as the investigation goes on. He says they’re on track to double production by the end of the year to 10 Dreamliners a month.

Boeing Wednesday said revenue reached a record last year of almost $82 billion and should climb as high as $85 billion this year.